Hoping to See You Again
by Ephrai
Summary: A simple one shot that takes place  predictably  a few years after the movie. While spending a quiet evening outside thinking about Haku, Chihiro gets a pleasant surprise that she's been waiting for a long time. Enjoy!


She had come to love the way the sun set on water; the gentle sounds that indicated flowing water and reminded her of a very dear friend. Relaxing back onto the grassy hill where her house sat, Chihiro smiled, the river that had recently been put in a new source of peace for her. It was summer time, as it had been when one of the biggest (and strangest) moments of her life had occurred. That span of time she had spent in the other world was a very clear memory to her; she thought about it everyday. A pleasant summer breeze blew past her and with it she was sure she heard her name. Sitting up much too quickly, she instinctively put a hand to her head to steady herself as she glanced around for the source.

"Chihiro!" Recognition dawned on her and she sighed at the sound of her father's voice. Turning to wave at him, he trotted over, panting slightly; he was still as overweight as he had been all those summers ago.

"We're leaving now, Chihiro. Are you sure you'll be alright?" She smiled, sighing as she did so. Her parents still seemed to think of her as a child though she was now seventeen.

"Yes, Dad, I'll be fine." He grinned and made a move to trudge back up the hill.

"Don't stay out too late, either." He stated and Chihiro waved him away, long used to these sorts of instructions. She listened to him rustle through the grass, pause for a few breaths, then continue on. Chihiro knew when he was at the top of the hill because the sound of the disturbed grass and labored breathing stopped.

"See you tomorrow, Chihiro!" Waving backwards again, she nodded to herself.

"Bye, Dad!" Listening intently to make sure he was gone, she exhaled slowly and fell back into the grass again. As much as she loved the summer time, the days always passed so slowly without any sign of Haku. Putting her hands over her eyes she focussed on breathing for a moment, her thoughts trailing over and over back to the other world and it's inhabitants. She often thought about trying to go back to the trail; she could see it from her house. Once, she had even gone so far as to walk all the way down the trail to the tunnel entrance. As much as she tried to convince herself and take the first step through, she couldn't.

_ "Don't look back until you're through the tunnel." _ Some of the last words she had heard before she had let go of his hand. Words that haunted her and though she had finally come back through the tunnel and stared intently back, she would never go back through. Chihiro knew with all her being that Haku's, "Don't look back" statement was a deciding factor in this.

"I'll wait." She had stated out loud as she had turned to leave.

Now, as she laid in the grass, listening to the river and the cicada's singing to each other, she pulled herself up again. Collecting herself as the blood rushed to her head a second time, she made her way down to the rivers edge and sat, sticking her feet in the water.

"You promised." She reminded the water, seeing Haku in everything wet. Her statement received no reply and she shook her head patiently.

"And I promised myself not to whine anymore." Flicking her feet back and forth, the sun practically gone, Chihiro stretched and went back to flinging water everywhere.

"But still, you promised." Listening intently, it became clear that everything was suddenly quiet and she frowned.

"I did promise." She jumped and looked around, but there was no one there. Rubbing at her eyes to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong with them, she glanced around again. Rubbing her eyes hadn't suddenly made anyone appear and her frown deepened.

"It's been seven years." She tried, hoping for a response that didn't come. Scrunching her feet up to her, she gave a small huff of frustration and her brow turned into a scowl when she thought she heard gentle laughter.

"You're clearly more patient than I am." She muttered and buried her face into her knees.

"No, you've done very well waiting." Her heart stopped and she refused to move, full of fear that if she moved again it would be the deciding factor of her self diagnosed insanity.

"But you've always been patient." Chihiro whispered. There was a slight splash of water and more laughter.

"Not really. If you'd only look at me, you'd know." Chihiro's head shot up and she saw nothing. To her surprise, the voice laughed again, louder this time as a shadow cast by a nearby tree moved along the water.

"I _am_ here, you know." Standing in a panic, she launched herself towards the shadow, grabbing at air in hopes that her hands would touch something solid. They didn't and her foot slipped against one of the algae covered rocks and she slipped backwards. Staring blankly for a moment with tears in her eyes, her voice caught in her throat as she finally saw him. He was sitting very calmly in the tree that had been casting the shadows and he was smiling. Pushing herself up, Chihiro covered her face and began sobbing, positive that she was dreaming or imagining things. A hand touched her elbow and another took her waist as he stood her up, pulling her gently to the river bank and onto dry land.

"You only had to look up." He whispered, pulling her close, ignoring her dripping clothes. She leaned into him, letting him stroke her hair as she tried to get over her disbelief.

"How could you tease me like that?" She asked finally, looking up at him and taking in his face. The calm smile soothed her and she put her head on his shoulder, the answer suddenly not important. It was enough that he was there now and she wouldn't let him leave her again if she could help it.

"Haku, what's happened over there? Where have you been?" His arms tightened around her and he let out a tired sigh.

"I had to wait for a river." Pulling her head away to look at him, she paused and a smile greeted him.

"This river?" He suddenly seemed shy and he nodded.

"I can stay here now." Chihiro nearly tackled him to the ground, wanting to dance around in excitement.

"Really? You're not teasing me again?" He laughed.

"Of course not." Laughing with him, she almost started crying all over again, but managed to refrain and buried herself into his chest. She didn't feel the need to say anything else, but tried to think of something anyway, though nothing came to mind. One of his hands continued stroking her hair and she fell asleep in his arms and woke up in the same place against his chest the next day.


End file.
